After reading In Protest, the Power of Place by Micheal Kimmelman, I was shown a new side of protest and community. Intrigued to find out more about Zuccotti park and the events that transpired there, my Integrative Seminar class took a field trip Downtown to the heart of the financial district. Upon arrival, I noticed a tall red sculpture that stretched up into the sky, somehow mocking the skyscrapers around it. Titled Joie do Vivre, this sculpture was placed at Zuccotti Park in June of 2006 and was put on a higher pedestal in 2011 when the Occupy Wall Street movement occurred. During my visit to the park, I was blown away at how small the park actually is. After doing resasech on the area after reading Kimmelman’s article I had a pre-disposed idea that the park was going to stretch for along longer than a block. Taking this size into consideration really made me think about how many people must have been there during the Occupy Wall Street movement and how crowded/ chaotic it must have been. I think its crazy how the thousands of people that gathered there found structure and maintained order by means of the “mic check” that Kimmelman discussed. This really shows the power of community and how a group of people are able to adapt (or shift) to small changes, like not being able to use a megaphone.
After our trip to Zuccotti Park, we walked a few blocks further and to my surprise, stumbled across the African American Burial Ground. Prior to my visit, I had no idea about the history of slavery in New York. After going to the memorial, and conducting further research outside of class, I was taken back at how much of am impact slaves had on this city and how horribly they were treated for doing so. Slaves basically built this city, and slave labor practically paid for it. How does this equate to a tiny memorial in the middle of the financial district? Why isn’t it bigger, and in a more noticeable area? African Americans have a huge part in New York City’s history, and it feels like the city is still trying to hide them from everyone else – almost like ‘they’ are ashamed and would rather just hide the memorial as if nothing even happened. I would say the city is doing a pretty good job at concealing the events that took place, because I literally had no clue about the slavery in New York City before I visit. Now that I do, I really feel a sense of anger, but also sympathy for those who’s efforts were, and remain to be unrecognized.
